No shock to see the entire B-more sideline bitching and moaning about an extremely blatant penalty. Walker could have been flagged on 3 different occasions for illegal contact on that play.

Quite a classy organization you're running there, Harbaugh.

Congrats on the win everyone.

LMAO, yeah no Steelers team or coach ever bitched like that before. Is complaining and not being happy about a call mean one is classless? Would it be more classy if he would have ran on the field screaming and spraying spit in the refs face?

The contact they flagged Walker on could have been called 10 other times today for both teams and at times it wasn't, so I understand the frustration there. However Harbaugh wasn't complaining about that though. He was complaining that per the rulebook, if Ben was outside the pocket (which he may have been) when the contact occurred then by rule its not a foul. Clear as day you could see him telling them to 'read the rule', so it wasn't the 'extremely blatant' contact he was arguing against. The call bailed Ben out of one of the dumbest throws I have ever seen.

That one play ended the game but didnt cause it so I personally dont blame the loss on that. The Ravens did what they had to do to lose. And for all the penalties, like I said if anything I think more should have been called against both teams.

Being the holidays the Ravens were in a giving mood which was nice, Ben tried to get in the spirit and give a gift to the Ravens too but it didnt work out. Im not real impressed with either of these teams this season. And the Bengals are not real strong either. Go AFC North!

Well, not sure what to think after that game. Definitely pleased they got the win, but they were thoroughly outplayed in the 2nd half. The defense didn't play well again, and if wasn't for a plethora of Ratties penalties, they would have lost by double digits. Ben played OK, but wasn't quite lights out against a shit secondary. Running game sucked all day for the Steelers, and they gave up over 170 on the ground themselves. I'm not really sure how they won, but they did. Can't imagine they win a game on the road in the playoffs if they squeak in, which looks unlikely even if they win next year.

The call bailed Ben out of one of the dumbest throws I have ever seen.

All I can recall is the worst dropped pass ever... : )

Completely agree re: quality of the AFCN.

The Ravens have been on the receiving end of untimely penalties all year long. As someone who lives in Bawlmer, the consensus earlier in the season was that the Ravens were being given the shaft by the refs, etc. But here we are at the end of the season and the Ravens are still racking up the penalty yards. Harbaugh has to get his defense more disciplined, though with patchwork, sub-par secondary, those DBs are gonna have to grab, pull, push, etc. to make up for lack of talent. The Steelers secondary is bad but I wouldn't trade any of our CBs for Walker, Carr, or Foxworth. Improve the talent at the corners and a lot of those illegal contact/PI calls go away.

That said, the PF penalties like the one on Ngata have hit the Ravens often over the past few years; I recall a game against Detroit a few years ago that was smitten (yes, I said it) with penalties against the Ravens.

The call bailed Ben out of one of the dumbest throws I have ever seen.

All I can recall is the worst dropped pass ever... : )

Completely agree re: quality of the AFCN.

The Ravens have been on the receiving end of untimely penalties all year long. As someone who lives in Bawlmer, the consensus earlier in the season was that the Ravens were being given the shaft by the refs, etc. But here we are at the end of the season and the Ravens are still racking up the penalty yards. Harbaugh has to get his defense more disciplined, though with patchwork, sub-par secondary, those DBs are gonna have to grab, pull, push, etc. to make up for lack of talent. The Steelers secondary is bad but I wouldn't trade any of our CBs for Walker, Carr, or Foxworth. Improve the talent at the corners and a lot of those illegal contact/PI calls go away.

That said, the PF penalties like the one on Ngata have hit the Ravens often over the past few years; I recall a game against Detroit a few years ago that was smitten (yes, I said it) with penalties against the Ravens.

Oh, Gerry Sandusky is a mega-douche.

I try to avoid Sandusky (and Stan White) at all cost. I dont disagree about the Raven CBs at all. And Reed out (like Troy) certainly hasnt helped. Frankly after the Vikings game I am amazed that more teams dont throw deep all game long. I really feel that more times than not it would be a PI or other call or a catch.

The Mason drop was awful (not dumb like Ben's throw but awful ) but he has been decent all year. Not great but decent. I dont think he is a good #1 any more and dont think he stretches as much on some passes as he could. Clayton is invisible, did he even play today? During the Packers game a few weeks ago one of the commentators said the Packer CBs run better routes than the Ravens. I cannot disagree.

Mix in the games lost, or not won, because of crappy kicking and I am amazed the Ravens are even in contention for the playoffs. Same with the Steelers, I have seen them play really well this year and other times find ways to lose like the Ravens. How often do teams lose 5 straight games and still have a shot at the playoffs?

The call bailed Ben out of one of the dumbest throws I have ever seen.

All I can recall is the worst dropped pass ever... : )

Completely agree re: quality of the AFCN.

The Ravens have been on the receiving end of untimely penalties all year long. As someone who lives in Bawlmer, the consensus earlier in the season was that the Ravens were being given the shaft by the refs, etc. But here we are at the end of the season and the Ravens are still racking up the penalty yards. Harbaugh has to get his defense more disciplined, though with patchwork, sub-par secondary, those DBs are gonna have to grab, pull, push, etc. to make up for lack of talent. The Steelers secondary is bad but I wouldn't trade any of our CBs for Walker, Carr, or Foxworth. Improve the talent at the corners and a lot of those illegal contact/PI calls go away.

That said, the PF penalties like the one on Ngata have hit the Ravens often over the past few years; I recall a game against Detroit a few years ago that was smitten (yes, I said it) with penalties against the Ravens.

Oh, Gerry Sandusky is a mega-douche.

I try to avoid Sandusky (and Stan White) at all cost. I dont disagree about the Raven CBs at all. And Reed out (like Troy) certainly hasnt helped. Frankly after the Vikings game I am amazed that more teams dont throw deep all game long. I really feel that more times than not it would be a PI or other call or a catch.

The Mason drop was awful (not dumb like Ben's throw but awful ) but he has been decent all year. Not great but decent. I dont think he is a good #1 any more and dont think he stretches as much on some passes as he could. Clayton is invisible, did he even play today? During the Packers game a few weeks ago one of the commentators said the Packer CBs run better routes than the Ravens. I cannot disagree.

Mix in the games lost, or not won, because of crappy kicking and I am amazed the Ravens are even in contention for the playoffs. Same with the Steelers, I have seen them play really well this year and other times find ways to lose like the Ravens. How often do teams lose 5 straight games and still have a shot at the playoffs?

Other than today, I'm not taking a shot at Mason. He's not a true #1 but he's the Ravens #1 right now. Solid and sure-handed most times.

I didn't really think Ben's throw was that awful. It appeared underthrown but it wasn't as if there weren't a WR in the vicinity. Maybe I've seen worse from Ben, which tempers my call on that throw...

While understanding that Flacco is the best Baltimore has had since their Colts days, I do think the Ravens erred in moving so far away from the run this year. I was watching a game last weekend or the weekend before which showed last year to be 55/45 run/pass and this year 45/55 (or something close to those #s). With 3 great running backs and an unbalanced OL scheme, the Ravens really played well last year. The Ravens currently don't have the horses to throw 55% of the time. Maybe they'll get Boldin this off-season but they need better quality to go along with Flacco's talent.

I have heard grumblings from fans who, at least until the past 2-3 weeks, wanted Heap gone after the season. Seems dumb but reactionaries are in every fan base.

I just pointed to the Ravens CB situation as a reasonable component of higher illegal contact/PI penalties. Frank Walker nor Chris Carr should see extensive playing time for anyone in the NFL. I was surprised the Ravens signed Ivy and not McAllister. Guess CMac burned a few bridges prior to his departure.

The Ravens always seem good for at least one PF penalty at the worse possible time. Today, we had two (Ngata and Cousins). Play hard, play smart.

The Steelers have played up or down to their level of competition. That suggests an issue with coaches getting their guys prepared for each game, as well as an issue of player leadership. Tomlin, like Harbaugh, is young and my guess is there is a steep learning curve for both guys. As to the players, I'd like to think the higher paid guys like Polamalu and Harrison would step up but neither seem to be those types. Farrior suppossedly is on defense. But he is N-F-L. Ben is just too flighty IMO to have a lot of push or substance behind his words. Ward may have been but screwed the pooch with his comments about Ben earlier this month. So that's a big problem moving forward.

I didn't really think Ben's throw was that awful. It appeared underthrown but it wasn't as if there weren't a WR in the vicinity. Maybe I've seen worse from Ben, which tempers my call on that throw...

My whole thought on that throw was that it was a stupid decision. The Steelers were winning with time running down and he threw it up for grabs when it was not necessary at all. He did the one thing he couldn't do, turn the ball over. He should have taken a sack instead of throwing that far down field while on the run. Thats why I think it was dumb, its just not smart football IMO. Lucky for him, there was a call against the Ravens.

I wont pick on Mason too much for the untimely drop either, he has been the only consistent target the Ravens have had all year. Years. They definetly need to upgrade the WR postion. Part of the reason Flacco is taking such a beating is he has to wait too long for someone to get open. I'd like to see them run more, but I suspect a large part of the reason they have passed more is for two reasons. First off the first quarter of the season the passing offense was really doing well, Flacco and the recievers looked great. Then a number of the games that werent going so well the Ravens were playing catch up and they needed to throw. I am not totally justifying the ratio, there have been numerous games where I have really questioned the offensive game plan. There were also a few games where they couldnt run at all. I am not even sure how I feel about the unbalanced line.

Its been a mess of a season, up and down. I really didnt expect the Ravens to win today (or in Minny, or in NE) but in each case they found a really frustrating way to lose each one. I'd prefer a 28-14 loss in many ways.

I'd have pulled all my hair out if I was a Steelers fan too. What a season of ups and downs. Iffy start, great spell, awful spell, now who knows......

And ofcourse the one time I want the Colts (or any undefeated team) to win they lose.

The bad news for both teams is Cincy appears to have over-performed . I don't think they are nearly as good as their divisional or overall record. Got a coupla key plays here and there (with the exception of that opener against the Broncos). As much as I have the Ravens, they seem more legit to me than the Bengals, thus I have more respect for the team.

I really wish to see Cincy lose in their first playoff game this year.

Logged

"Dreith said I hit Sipe too hard. I hit him as hard as I could. Brian has a chance to go out of bounds and he decides not to. He knows I'm going to hit him. And I do. History."- - - Jack Lambert, after referee Ben Dreith ejected him from a game for knocking out Browns QB Brian Sipe.

Ravens and Steelers appear to be in the same leaky boat, but the Raven's side is the drier side at this point.

Agree with Spen; Ben's decision was bad. You can't turn the ball over there. Inside 2 minutes, Ravens out of timeouts. I don't have a problem with passing there to try for the first down that ends the game. But you have to be safe. The most important things are to keep the ball and keep the clock moving. Call your play - if it's there and you have an easy pass and catch for the first down, great. If it's not there, get what you can and keep the clock moving. Punt it away with about a minute and change left and see if they can drive the length of the field.

It was just another example of the characteristic we love/hate about Ben. He never gives up on a play. But that throw was ill advised.